December's One Monthly Goal

In January I started the Block of the Month hosted by Sherri McConnell at A Quilting Life.  My friend, Denise, is always finding projects to talk me into, and I usually go along with her.   I'm always glad, though, so that must be a good thing.  The last BOM I made with her, went to my SIL, Jan, and she loved it.  I did, too!  (You can read about it here.)  

This time I decided to go with Christmas fabrics.  I started with these -

None of the rest of the prints I used were really very "Christmassy".  Maybe you would call them more "classic".  If you're really a fan of Christmas you might even call them "boring".  

The blocks have a consistent fabric for the churn dash, the background, and the sashing.  AND, as you can see, there are a lot of HSTs.  No comment.

My goal for December is to get the blocks into a top.

I may have to convince people it really is a Christmas quilt, since it's not red and green, but that's fine with me; I like it better that way.  (Guess who the grinch is around here?)

Linking up with One Monthly Goal

An Early Finish - Safari Babies

I may have planned too easy a goal for November.  The Safari Babies quilt is already done!  I quilted it with a simple meander on my domestic machine and put on a bright binding for a fun finish.

 

Such cute safari babies!

I've already found some line drawings for another quilt like this one.  This time - underwater babies!

Linking up with So Scrappy, Confessions of a Fabric Addict, and One Monthly Goal

November Goals

I've done well this year getting things checked off my 2022 "To Do" List but not so great at finishing things on the "UFO" List.  I have three donation quilts along with the backings and bindings made and ready to be finished.  One is from last year, so it needs to be done first.  I found the cutest little safari animals online last year, traced them onto unbleached muslin, and embroidered them, but that's as far as I got.  That's what happens when I just have to have some handwork to keep busy.  Things end up on the UFO list.  

I think they're pretty adorable.

Last week I pulled a bunch of 2.5" squares from my (incredibly organized) stash and started sewing them together to come up with this -

 

Getting this done and checked off the list is my November goal.  If i can finish a couple of other WIPs (Works in Progress) and keep them from ending up on the UFO list at the end of the year, that will be a bonus! 

Linking up with One Monthly Goal

October One Monthly Goal Met and a Stash Report

My October One Monthly Goal was to finish and gift the I Spy quilt for Baby Vivi, and I did it.  It was finished and gift wrapped for several days, but I didn't get by there to drop it off until the afternoon of the 31st.  Phew!  That was close.

I guess I was really focused on finishing, because I didn't take any "in process" photos.  How about some slightly fuzzy close-ups instead?

Cute prints, and bright colors, and Tom & Jerry, and cupcakes .....  

..... and a sweet custom label made by my friend Denise, aka Vivi's gramma.

My stash report is a little sparse this month, but I'm getting there.

OCTOBER

Fabric Added in October -  5.5 yards

Fabric Used in October -  10.4 yards

Fabric Added Year to Date - 77.7 yards

Fabric Used Year to Date - 195.6 yards

Net Used in 2022 - 117.9 yards

Days I sewed in October - 30/31

Days I sewed this year - 294/304

Percentage - 97%

linking up with So Scrappy

September Goals

My grandson needs a new quilt.   It seems he has outgrown all the quilts I've made for him.  It's no wonder.

 

 

Look at this child!  I think he gets taller every day!

He wouldn't give me any ideas about the style or colors I should use.  He wants to be surprised.  I bet that would be risky with a lot of 16-year-olds, but I'm pretty sure he'll like whatever I do.  I've decided to use the "Cartwheel" pattern by Stephanie Sheridan.  It was featured in the Aug/Sept 2016 issue of McCall's Quick Quilts magazine.  This is what I have done so far .....

..... 60 string blacks partially made, and a huge mess in my sewing room!

The plan is to turn the string blocks into HSTs with a navy or dark blue monochromatic print.  My September goal is to have the top finished and ready for quilting.  

I'm all set up and ready to get back to work!

Linking up with One Monthly Goal and So Scrappy

August Goal Done (Thank Goodness!)

My August One Monthly Goal was to finish putting together Cerena's quilt top.   I used a really fun "Nightmare Before Christmas" print for the focus fabric and drew colors from the print to build my version of the Mountain Horizon pattern. 

When the blocks were ready to put into rows (on point) I wondered how it could possibly come together accurately since the directions called for using half-blocks as setting triangles.  Normally, you make your setting triangles in such a way that they are large enough to give you a seam allowance along the quilt's edges, so you don't lose any of your nice, clean, sharp points.  In fact, when you look at the "picture" on the "Mountain Horizon" pattern the points along the edges of the quilt are perfect.

I consider myself to be a fairly precise sewist.  Decent points. 

 

But the edges of my quilt top looked like this .....

..... which meant the triangle points would be cut off once the binding was added.  

I checked the designer's web site (Lo & Behold Stitchery) to see if there were any corrections.  There were none.  However, the designer's own photo shows the same points cut off when the binding was added.

Another quilt top from her site ..... 

..... shows the same thing.  Obviously the "photo" on the front of the pattern is not a photo, but rather an artist's rendering or digital image of some sort.  (Can you tell I am not a happy girl right now?)

All that aside, the quilt is finished .....

..... and in the mail, and it might even be loved.  

Even though it's not my work that's in question, I'm not super proud of this finish.  I didn't even put my name on it like I normally would, just my initials.

And that's all I have to say about that. 

August Goals and a Stash Report

I'm still so excited about meeting my July goal, that I'm ready to set another somewhat challenging goal for August.  So.  Here we go.

A while back one of my nieces asked me to make a quilt for her daughter-in-law, Cerena, who had loved one of her gramma's quilts so much and for so long that it was completely worn out.  At the same time my friend, Denise, was working on a quilt for her DIL and needed motivation, so we decided to make it a sew-along.  She was using the pattern "Mountain Horizon" by Brittany Lloyd.  Cerena loves all things "The Night Before Christmas", so that was my first fabric choice and coordinating fabrics were soon to follow.

Of course I had to make it my own.  That's the fun part of using patterns!  I made several changes in the main block, combining some of the pieces, because I didn't want to cut up the focus fabric.  That meant creating a new pattern for part of it and making a test block just to be sure.  Can you see what I did?  

Instead of doing curved piecing I just raw-edge applique'd the half circles.  

Getting that first sample block made is always so motivating.

  

My August goal is to have all the blocks finished and get them into a top.  You never know.  I might get even more done than that!

JULY

Fabric Added in July - 15.7 yards

Fabric Used in July - 29.8 yards

Fabric Added Year to Date - 52 yards

Fabric Used Year to Date - 138.9 yards

Net Used in 2022 - 86.9 yards

Days I sewed in July- 28/31

Days I sewed this year - 201/212

Percentage - 95%

Linking up with One Monthly Goal 

July Goals

Since I accomplished my June goals, after failing to do much at all in April and May, I think I might have enough mojo now to set my goals for July.   

I started on a One Block Wonder in September of 2019.  Yikes!  That's embarrassing.   Okay, it needs to come off the UFO list soon for sure!   I started quilting it around then, but got discouraged shortly after that (with Covid and life, not just with quilting) and set it aside.  I had quilted all the blocks in the center of the quilt but not the borders.

It is definitely time to finish it.  Hubby made a template for me to match the shape of the six inch hexagons.  (I tried, but mine was wonky!)  So far, I've stitched a few hexagons in the border, but it's going to need something else.  

I'm kind of figuring it out as I go.  I need to figure fast, though, because finishing this quilt is my July One Monthly Goal.  

Another goal for this month is to get my Rainbow Scrap Challenge blocks made using this month's color - purple.  This is definitely going to be fun since THIS is my purple stash .....

.....  all of it!

And this is everything from my juvenile/novelty prints that has any purple at all in it.

So.  Let the challenge begin!

Linking up with One Monthly Goal and So Scrappy

RSC-Blue Goals and OMG Goals Met, And Then Some!

What a month!  You would think I was trying to make up for the last two months, or something.  

I got all my blue Pinwheel, Sawtooth Star, and "brick" blocks made for the RSC-2022 scrap challenge. 

Then, I focused on the quilts I had started for my daughter-in-law's friend's twin grand babies.  I wanted them to be similar but not identical, so I made Pinwheel blocks for one and Broken Dishes blocks for the other.  

Huh.  The Broken Dishes blocks made a secondary pattern that looks like - guess what?  Pinwheels!  

They're pretty easy to tell apart, though.  The cornerstones and the backings are different.  More "Seashore Drive" from Moda.  Such a sweet collection.

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My quilting friend and neighbor, Denise, made labels for me with the girls' names on them.  If that doesn't make them different, I don't know what would!

Back to the June goals.  The applique' stars baby quilt is finished.  I made it in time to call it a June finish.  Barely.  This will be a donation quilt for our local St. Jude affiliate hospital.

All that AND a good stash report!

JUNE

Fabric Added in June -  7 yards

Fabric Used in June -  31.2 yards

Fabric Added Year to Date - 36.3

Fabric Used Year to Date - 109.1 yards

Net Used in 2022 - 72.8 yards

Days I sewed in June - 29/30

Days I sewed this year - 173/181

Percentage - 95%

Linking up with So Scrappy! and One Monthly Goal